


The Second Battlefront

by DaymanTomoe



Category: Angel Beats
Genre: F/M, Kawaii level intensifies!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2017-12-30 13:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1019049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaymanTomoe/pseuds/DaymanTomoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the afterlife, a new group has emerged to challenge god, but something else is happening here and a newcomer might be the only thing that can save them.</p><p>And also be sure to leave a comment and some kudos!</p><p>Also, some credit is due for LinkLord on fanfiction.net for his story, Angel Beats! Ascension. I highly encourage readers of the Angel Beats! fandom to give it a read. Even though it was never completed, I loved it, and thought that it needed a proper continuation!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the Afterlife

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Angel Beats! Ascension](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/82283) by LinkLord. 



Maria Sandovaal woke up at the edge of a vast forest. It was dark and she could barely see lights in the distance. Shakily, she got up and took a look around. Her clothes had been replaced with a school uniform and the lights were around a large building. She heard a gunshot in that direction and saw a bright light flash across the ground. She ran over to investigate.

Kyle Vintress dodged a lightning fast sword attack by sidesteping to the right. His opponent was another young boy with blades on his arms and a special uniform marking the student body president. His name was Castiel and he was the 'angel' who tries to keep order and help people move on. This battle had been going on for a few minutes, neither of them willing to back down until the other was dead. Already, most of the second battlefront was killed, and Kyle was determined to defeat the angel. Castiel jumped back and blocked an incoming bullet. "Guardskill, Omega Cannon!" The blades disappeared and were replaced with two big laser cannons. They fired at Kyle, who just barely got out of the way, and rolled behind a wall for cover. He checked the clip in his submachine gun; There were only 12 rounds left. Across the open courtyard, Kyle could barely recognize the figure of a young girl. "Hey! Run!" he shouted.

Castiel perked up and realized exactly where his prey was. Maria could only watch in horror at the carnage before her and that young boy's impending doom. Castiel turned the corner and fired at a fleeing Kyle, easily tearing through him. Slowly, Castiel looked back over his shoulder, piercing blue eyes glowing in the darkness. "It's past curfew, you need to go to bed," he said softly. Shakily, Maria picked up a handgun from a nearby body. "I won't ask you again. Please go to your room, or I will have to punish you." She fired one shot, which was reflected by Castiel's invisible barrier. _"Guardskill: Handsonic."_ He dashed forward suddenly with blinding speed and blades outstretched.

 

This time, Maria awoke in a hospital bed. _'Was that a dream or something?'_ she thought. To her right, Kyle was sitting next to her bed, clearly asleep. _'Apparently not...'_ Seeing him like this made it kind of hard to believe he could handle himself against that boy with the laser cannons. He had long, silvery hair sticking every which way, black square glasses askew on his face. He was wearing a tan suit and black tie, spattered with various stains ranging from mustard on his leg to gravy on his collar. On the nightstand lay a small flowered plate with a half-eaten waffle and syrup. Slowly, Maria rolled out of bed and tested her limbs. _'Everything seems to work right,'_ she thought, _'but what happened last night then?'_

"You're awake huh?" Maria jumped as Kyle spoke. "Where am I?"

"This is the infirmary." He rose from his seat. "I'm sure you're confused as to the nature of your situation, so I'll be frank. You died.

Maria still looked puzzled. "So what, this is some sort of life after death thing? How do you expect me to believe something like that?"

"Because we know. We've been here a hell of a lot longer than you. You have no idea where you are, or what happened that day, or last night. Who would you trust more?"

The question weighed deeply on Maria. She knew almost nothing about her situation, that was true. He might really have the answers she's looking for. "My name's Kyle by the way. I am the leader of the Second Battlefront which believes that God is responsible for what happened during our lives." Kyle had suddenly turned very serious as he said this. "We rebel against him, to get some vengeance, no _justice_ after we watched our families and friends die in front of us, our possesions taken from us with no show of remorse, unspeakable things done to us and people we know while he did _nothing_. I won't force you to join, but I think you should keep these things in mind."

Maria stepped back and bumped into the bed. The two of them sat in silence as Maria mulled it over in her head. "I... don't think I want to join just yet..."

"What will you do then?" "I don't know... I'll probably just hang out around this place until I find something better, but I just can't join this... battlefront until I really know what I want to do."

Kyle looked to the half-eaten waffle on the nightstand. "Hey, do you want that waffle?" he asked.

Maria was taken aback at Kyle's sudden change in demeanor. Still, she hadn't eaten anything since she got here, and it looked to be around noon. "Yeah, sure." Kyle handed her the plate and she immediately scarfed down her lunch.

As the two sat in silence once more, two girls broke into the room, their expressions panicked. "Kyle!" one of them shouted. "The cafeteria... it's destroyed!"


	2. Hunger...

"What do you mean?!" Kyle demanded.

The other girl was more calm. "We mean it was blown up, along with all of our food." She certainly carried an air of attitude about her, she wore holey blue jeans and an open leather jacket. Her hair was short and red and held a small barrette on the left. Her shirt was black and had Beavis and Butthead on it. Strapped to her back was a deep red Fender. "So this is the new girl?"

"Actually, she hasn't--"

"My name's Tori Anderson! I play in the Battlefront's diversionary band, Girls Dead Monster."

"But Tori," Kyle started, "she's no--"

"And this," she gestured to her left, "is Saiyuri Amane. She's our field scientist, technician, and accountant, and also Kyle's personal watchdog." Saiyuri appeared to be older than the rest of them, and was dressed in a white lab coat. Her long black hair was put in a ponytail that resided just above her waist. In her hand was a clipboard filled with all sorts of important information. Unlike Tori, however, Saiyuri lacked all confidence.

"I'm Maria Sandovaal. It's nice to meet you."

Kyle finally burst out, "But she isn't part of the Battlefront! You shouldn't be giving out sensitive information to people outside the Battlefront!"  
Tori seemed to ignore Kyle's outburst, "Come on, we need to clean up the mess and figure out how to get our food."  
Kyle sighed. "Fine, let's go."

Downstairs in the cafeteria, the entire place was in ruins, flames still riddling the tables that remained standing. "Check the kitchen," Kyle ordered.

"We did," said Tori, "There's nothing left in there. This place will clean up itself, but we need to get on this guy's tail now!"

Kyle nodded solemnly at the wreckage, remembering all the meetings and fun timery they had here. "Right. Contact Tex, see if she's seen anyone leave the building." He paused a moment, losing his train of thought. "Also, we're heading down into the Guild, there's a project I need to pick up."

"Wh-what should I do?" Maria had been standing in the doorway.

"Stay here. Can you fight?"

"N-not very well..." Suddenly, a walkie-talkie landed in her arms.

"If you see anyone, don't hesitate to call us, we'll come running." 

Saiyuri meanwhile, had been investigating the crime scene, and noticed something. "Guys, I found a clue!" The others came running. "There are footprints leading outside if I shine my blacklight on it." She then proceeded to show the group her findings, which indeed revealed large boots which ran in large strides out to the sports fields.

Tori pulled out her walkie. "Tex, come in." After a few moments, she received a response. "We think our culprit was on his way to the fields, see anyone?"

Another long pause. "...I was on the other side of the building... I don't see anything."

Behind them, their leader cursed under his breath. "Fine, let's go to the Guild then."

"What? exclaimed Tori, "We're giving up already?!"

"Call it a tactical retreat. We're going to get the means to catch him next time. Surveillance systems, motion detectors, we can't let this happen again. Besides, I still need to pick up a certain personal project of mine," he added under his breath. "In the meantime, I feel like GiDeMo should write a new song, I've been waiting for something new for months..."

"Well sorry!" Tori spat, "but the creative process takes time!"

Kyle laughed for a minute, "Sorry, that was a joke!" The rest of the group present glared at his soul for a moment, and slowly, they dispersed.

 

Away from all the commotion in the destroyed cafeteria, a girl with long red hair and a silver dress was strolling through the halls. "Damn that angel..." She struck at the wall with her foot, and ended up waking some student asleep in his dorms. "I can't believe after all this time, he can still slaughter the whole Battlefront so easily." Unbeknownst to a certain someone across the hall, he had caught the eye of this frustrated red-head, who immediately pulled her gun on sight, equipping a silencer of course. "V-a-n-t-u-s B-e-k-n-e-y!!!" The aforementioned male looked up from a book he had been reading, but not in time to dodge the speeding bullet piercing through his leg.

"GAAH?!" Vantus staggered back, dropping his book. "Why, Catherine?!"

"Because, you cost us that fight!" As Catherine stalked closer, she shot him in the other leg. "You shot me, remember? Now," she suddenly struck him in the face. "I'm returning the favor!" As she was about to pull the trigger however, something hit her in the shoulder, and she collapsed at his feet. 

"T-tranquilizer?"

"That's right." A girl descended from a vent in the ceiling. She was wearing incredibly short shorts and a tanktop three sizes too small. Her hair was put up in a high ponytail and two thick strands hung over her shoulder and was dark green. In her hair was a pink ribbon. "It's a long story."

"So, what happened?"

"I said it was a long story."

"Yeah, but I don't care. Maybe a long story would be good as I'm bleeding out on the floor."

"...It's not a long story."

"B-but. What?!"

"I figured that by saying it was a long story, I could avoid telling people what happened."

Vantus slowly rose from the floor, having used his torn pant legs as bandages, and the belts ornamenting his shirt to hold them. "So, what happened?"

"I woke up, and all of my clothes and equipment were gone, except my sniper rifle and bullets. So I searched the room across the hall, and I found these."

"...Do yourself a favor and find something more decent, I can see your panties." CRACK! The sniper smacked Vantus across the head. As she ran down the hall to, likely, find more clothes, Vantus could clearly hear her screaming various obcenities back at him. Picking up his book, his stomach growled.

 

A young boy, meanwhile, was sitting in a dark room, eating from a box of pizza furiously. On a computer screen in front of him, was displayed a picture of a spiked katana, with a caption above it. It read: Power in Oneself.


	3. Cursed Blood, Pt 1

In a music room at the end of a vacant hallway, the sound of an electric guitar echoed throughout the school. "I think I thought of a name," states Tori casually. Previously, the team had been scratching their heads over the name of their new song for more than an hour.

In the back of the room was their drummer, who was wearing a blue sweater, and a darker shade of blue in her scarf, which wrapped over her mouth. Her hair was long, wavy, and cream colored, with matching wolf ears. She also had a tail, but it seemed as though she wasn't wearing any pants...? "Mmhmn mmf-Bwuh!" She removed her scarf. "I said: Wow, what is it?"

Tori paused for dramatic effect. "Dyin On a Prayer." The drummer then threw her drumsticks across the room, nailing Tori in the head. "Ow! It was just a joke Miyoko!" For a moment, she rubbed the large bump growing on her head. "No, the song will actually be called Copper Sky." A chorus of approval rose from the band. "Also, I learned how to make a weird sound with my guitar." Picking up her Fender and a small piece of paper, and demonstrated the... odd noise. Silence gripped the band room as the sound echoed out and died.

"It sounds like a jet ripped a big one!" Blurted Miyoko.

"I-it just sounds different! We could use this!"

"Would you have the guy in a romance novel suddenly fart while watching the sunset with his one true love?"

".....You win." Tori resigned to her chair, cradling the red guitar in her lap. "What do you think, Wander?"

A girl in a cloak was sitting on the stage next to the drums. "I agree."

"To which one?"

"...Miyo-chan."

"Gah! I can't even get Wander!"

"Come to think of it," says Miyoko, "we never did learn her name did we?"

The room stayed silent, they all knew Wander wouldn't let them in on her secret, even if they were band mates now. Tori decides to break the silence. "It's too bad Kitty couldn't make it with that fever." She then gasps as an idea comes to her. "I could sing the song!"

"Come on, we know you don't multitask well," says Wander. "If we could find a substitute for your guitar tho-"

" Don't touch my guitar!"

Wander takes a defensive step back. "Well then maybe I can fill in for guit-"

"Don't touch my guitar!"

"We can find a replacement to sing-"

" I want to sing!"

"....."

 

Kyle in the meantime, had assembled those who would go down into the Guild in the principal's office. Currently, the room was occupied by students, with no teacher to be found, and a projector shone on the back wall. "Alright, we're going down into the Guild to retrieve several things: A state-of-the-art surveillance system, complete with motion detectors, land mines, face recognition, and more. Second, we need to refill our supplies, even though we went last week. Lastly, we should pick up a few new weapons for our newest member to use if she chooses to join us. The plan is-"

A hand raised from the audience, who asked his question without being called upon. "Didn't you have a personal errand to run? What's that about?"

Kyle was obviously perplexed at the boy's usual lack of manners, but figured his question was still valid. "I've taken the liberty of placing a special weapon order for myself. Tatoari." A picture of the blade he was about to recieve appeared onscreen. It was a dark blue hue, and consisted of only a wide broadsword blade, rounded at one end, with straps attatched to one side. "Additionally, it shoots fire, and is nigh-unbreakable by conventional means.I assure you though, more advanced weaponry is currently being developed in the Guild. Anything else before we move on?" The group had no further questions, though somebody did whisper something about a new rifle."We need to go to the Third Guild this time, Experimental Weapons department, we've got a lot of stuff to pick up from there. Next, we'll head to the Second Guild for the supply run. I've already called Guildmaster, and all the traps are disabled." He pulled out a small notebook. "This is the diary from one of the members of the original Shinda Sekai Sensen, the SSS Battlefront, as I'm sure most of you are aware. I've got good news." He signaled to Catherine, who wheeled in a small cart of books. "I've taken the liberty of copying it's contents for all of you to read."

Someone asked from the crowd, "Yeah, but what about the personal stuff?"

"I've omitted most of the personal things in the diary, so don't worry." Suddenly, a shriek was heard from beyond the door as machinery clicked awake. A crash was heard, and moments later, someone knocked on the door.

Catherine walked to the door. "What is the password?"

"There is no God, Buddha, or Angel," the boy replied. Catherine opened the door for him.

"Vantus, you're late."

"Yeah, it doesn't help that you tried to kill me! You know getting shot in the knee and walking away is worse than death here right? I could hardly make it to the infirmary!" Grumbling to himself, Vantus took his seat so the briefing could continue.

"Like I was saying..." Kyle continued. "The operation will take place tonight, so be ready to go by then. The diversionary band will play as usual, with a new song, I might add, and hopefully, Castiel will be plenty distracted enough so that we can proceed. Dismissed." With that final word, the group immediately dispersed oit into the halls, soon leaving Kyle and Catherine alone in the room. "How was it?"

"Not one of you're best briefings, that's for sure." For a while, the Battlefront leader didn't say anything. "Something's bothering you isn't it?"

"After all this time," his voice was shakier than usual, "I'm not so sure I'm still the leader you all need right now."

"Why do you say that? We've been doing well these-"

"Nevermind," he said suddenly. He had fully regained his composure. "It doesn't matter."

"Kyle!"

"No, please. Drop it," his voice now sounded lighter, but with a stern authority. Catherine understood that Kyle would no longer confide in her for now, and picked up her supplies, heading for the door. "Hey Catherine," he called, "Why don't you have some ramen with me? I'm pretty sure the battlefront set up a kitchen in the destroyed cafeteria. I heard Miyoko makes some great ramen."

"Y-yeah. That'd be good. How about after we get back from the Guild?"

"Yes, when we get back remember!" Kyle walked out the door to gather his supplies, but was abruptly smashed out the window by the giant hammer they had found when they got there. From around the corner, Ash was snickering, and Catherine shot him in the leg.

 

On the stage in the gym meanwhile, the diversionary band was setting up for the show with the help of the newcomer, Maria. "Why do I have to help set up the stage?" Maria grumbled.

"Hey!" Tori snapped, "Whether you're in the Battlefront or not, you do want to see a show right? Besides, Wander and I can't set  it up ourselves." She pointed over to their other member, who was serving various Battlefront members in the cafeteria next door. "Miyoko has to cook ramen for everyone to eat and Kittanra in the infirmary. Make yourself useful." She clicked a switch in the control room, turning on the lights and blinding everyone below. 

"I didn't say I wouldn't do it!"

"Well then quit your whining and do it!" Suddenly, a cloaked figure descended from the lighting rig, crashing onto Maria and sending both tumbling off the stage.

"....You two shouldn't fight." Wander said. Then, she got up and began setting up the amps. "....We only have two more hours until the show. We should hurry."

Tori turned off the big lights and called to Wander to haul in the big screen which would provide the background for their performance. "By the way, I heard that there's a new car waiting for them in the Guild."

"What's the Guild? Some sort of club?"

"Don't let Kyle know I told you this but, " she leaned in close, "It's a secret workshop where we get all of our supplies. The main team is leaving tonight!"

"You don't get to go?"

"Of course not! We have to distract the other students so that Castiel doesn't find it. Judging from First Guild's condition when we found it, it happened once before, so we have to be careful. If we lose the Guild, it's all over." Suddenly, Tori gasped as she remembered something. "That's right! They're going to get something super cool I heard. Something for Kyle I think. You know, if you join the Battlefront, they might build you something cool!"

"Yeah, that would be nice... But I'm good for now, I don't think I want to yet." Maria noticed something in the cafeteria, and everyone turned to see. At the door, was a young boy stalking slowly into the cafeteria, carrying a long object behind him which scraped along the freshly waxed floor.

Miyoko got up from her ramen stand and greeted the boy. "I've never seen you before. What's your...." She trailed off as she deciphered the identity of the object which he carried, and noticed the steady drip of blood running down the blade. She stepped back as she locked eyes with the boy, his piercing and red.

In one fleeting moment, the boy flared up in rage and plunged his sword into her stomach. Miyoko screamed, but was cut short as blood spurted from her throat. Her vision quickly blurred as the red liquid poured from the wound and heard the boy yell one thing as she died: "Call me Blood!"


	4. Cursed Blood, Pt 2

Immediately, the Battlefront whipped out their available sidearms and opened fire on the boy, who used Miyoko's limp body as a shield. As some of he members began reloading, he dashed from his cover, quickly cutting down members at the ramen stand. The boy flared up in a red glow with each kill, seeming to move faster as he did. Suddenly, a shotgun shell ripped through the boy's shoulder. Ash was standing at the other side of the cafeteria, holding two shotguns and pointing them straight at Blood. "I was gonna eat that damn ramen!"

Blood shot him a menacing glare, but did not respond. Ash shot at him again, but was deflected this time and the boy charged at him. He slashed down with his sword and missed as Ash delivered a roundhouse to the back of the head. Blood collapsed, but quickly recovered in time to block another round of fire. He slashed again, this time a flurry of attacks which Ash could barely block with his guns and abruptly kicked him in the stomach.

Then, as Blood was about to deliver the final blow, a certain sniper knocked the sword from his hands, crashing to the floor behind him. Recovered now, Ash threw a hard left hook that caught him in the eye and he stumbled to the ground. "Had enough yet?" Ash taunted. "That'll teach you not to get blood all over the food!"

"Ash! No one cares about the ramen, he's still alive you know!" Ash turned back to Tex's perch to shout a mouthy remark, but the boy had gotten up and sliced his right arm off at the shoulder, spewing blood onto the floor. Ash screamed, but then turned around and shot the boy point-blank in the chest. Blood staggered backwards at the shot, but immediately ran Ash through.

"Stand back." Tex heard that voice from behind her, and knew it was Kyle. He had removed his overcoat and brought along his longsword. "I want to take him on."

"With all due respect Kyle, he took down Ash. He's a skilled streetfighter."

"And I've had even more practice with a sword. Ash was caught off guard, I'm not mocking him at all." He wrapped the overcoat around one of the long lights hanging over the cafeteria. "I'm going to surprise him, he won't expect an attack from above." As he was about to follow through in his dramatic entrance however, another boy entered the scene.

Maria recognized him as the boy Kyle was fighting the other night, but could see his features more clearly from behind the curtain. He was fairly tall and thin, with wavy brown hair swept to one side. He wore small square glasses similar to Kyle's and wore the typical uniform of the student council president. As he swiftly strode into the room, he stuffed a small book into his bag, and threw it upon the stage. "You." He pointed at Blood, who was standing over Ash's corpse, the sword standing straight up in his chest. "Are you a new student?"

The kid looked baffled at Castiel's seeming indifference to the bloody scene before him. Shakily, he wrenched the sword from it's place. "W-what are you going to do?" he asked.

"You will go to detention so that we may correct this... barbaric behaviour. If you go quietly, I won't have to injure you."

The rest of the Battlefront was dead silent; for once, was Castiel on their side? Tex aimed her sniper rifle at Blood's head. "What should I do?"

"Shoot him if it makes you feel better," Kyle said, "but remember that Castiel might even defend him if we take that shot. Then we'd have a real shit storm on our hands." He looked around the room. "I think we need to diffuse the situation a bit, get out of here. Do we have any smoke bombs?"

Tex pulled out a sack full of different gadgets and pulled out the weapon they needed. "Of course. I'll wait for your signal."

Castiel continued to focus his gaze on the bloody mess before him. "You need to go to detention. Now." He muttered a few words under his breath and a faint disturbance shimmered in his hand. Blood remained where he was. "I will not ask again, don't make me hurt you."

Blood stabbed into Ash's body once again, squirting blood onto the sword and giving it a faint red glow. "I won't let you take me away!" He yelled and charged at Castiel. His hand shimmered again and an explosion suddenly burst from Blood's feet, sending him crashing into the ramen stand.

" _Guardskill: Uplifting."_ Castiel spoke in a sort of trance, his hand shimmering again. The sword was then wrenched from Blood's hands as he lay there in the wreckage unmoving. "I will take this weapon until a parent or guardian comes to retrieve it." Noticing the small thorns adorning the handle, he removed his coat and wrapped it around the blade as he stalked closer to the unconscious Blood. "As for the rest of you," he whipped around and examined the Battlefront members. "You have suffered enough loses from this battle. I will not asign detention for you this time, however I do expect all of you to take care not to let this happen again."

Tex pocketed the smoke bombs. "I guess we won't have to use these huh," she whispered. As she looked behind her though, she suddenly noticed the stark shade of red on Kyle's face. "What's up?"

Kyle, unbeknownst to Tex however, was crouched directly behind her, facing her significantly underdressed rear. Keeping the same serious expression as ever, he slowly began creeping back into the vent to escape from the situation. "N-nothing's wrong."

"...It's not my fault I didn't have anything to wear!" She quickly sat up, bonking her head by accident. 

 

The rest of the day happened smoothly, ending in a killer rock concert by Girls Dead Monster, and a safe entry into the tunnels underneath the stage. Ash, cocky as ever, decided to lead the group, but was inevitably crushed by the hammer which immediately popped out of the wall. Kyle sighed. "I suppose that's one down... Either way, we have a lot of ground to cover. This way." He lead the group slowly, but safely around the traps set up in the tunnels, making sure not to set any of them off in case Castiel got a little curious. After learning of the tunnels' existence the first time, Kyle, along with Catherine and the Guildmaster trekked through, learning exactly how each of the traps worked, as well as made alternate routes around them.

This time, the members present were Kyle, Ash (dead of course), and three others. As they reached a long hallway, dark right now, Kyle pulled a lever on the left, and a secret passage appeared, revealing a few extra traps, running at all times in case Castiel figured it out. They were just a few spinning saw blades down a narrow hall, and Kyle leapt and ducked around them with ease, signaling the others to follow. "Come on, we don't have all night."

The boy took a look at the saw blades to time his jump, but suddenly, another one flew out from the wall and beheading him instantly while his body was sliced in half as it collapsed right onto the saw he was trying to jump. Kyle sighed yet again and continued onwards, the other two managing to make it over.

After arriving at a large underground river, Kyle stopped the group. "This one requires timing..." he said. A small boat carrying a toy puppy sailed down the river. Kyle then pulled out a laser pointer and aimed it at the back of the toy..... Nothing happened. "Damn it, work..." Again, the cave remained still. Frantically now, he kept trying to point it at the receptacle on the back, but was unable to as the toy plummeted down into a waterfall. "Well." His other two companions remained silent. "I suppose we'll have to continue on from here."

"What do you mean? There's no other alternate?"

"Nope. We have to go through the old-fashioned way." Removing his overcoat, Kyle threw it across the river. "Well, come on." He jumped into the river and swam to the other side.

The other member took a frightened step back from the raging waters. "I-I-I can't swim!" Kyle however ignored him. "Kyle, I can't swim!"

"Well then you're just gonna have to wait here!" The other grunt said.

Kyle dryed off his wet clothes on the shore. "He gets it." Putting on his overcoat again, he began walking toward a section of the wall. "Don't worry though, is is the end anyways. I'll fetch a bridge!" Moments later, he returned with three burly men. "Right there," he instructed them. The rescued grunt immediately thanked him as soon as he walked across the rickety wooden plank.

 

"So that's your field report?"

"Wave, quit trying to quote Hellsing Abridged. We lost Ash as usual, and one other member." He wiped a speck of blood left on his cheek. "Saw blades."

The Guildmaster furrowed her brow. "Youch, sounds nasty." She pulled out her walkie. "John! Are ya comin with those damn supplies?!"

A gruff voice answered. "Yeah, yeah! I just got word that that project was finished yesterday. When was I supposed to know that!"

"Just get the supplies up here!" She got an excited smile on her face. "By the way Kyle, I've got something to show you!" She led him through the Guild and into a new tunnel he had never seen before. "So, for the past few months, we've been drilling a road straight to the surface, and it's almost done!"

"...Why?"

"Because, I got you a present!" She signaled for a group of workers to reveal a shiny new Jeep. "It's got a rear view camera, a minigun, six-wheel drive. It's even got a fancy other feature, but I'm not gonna show you!" She pointed up at a large spiral reaching at least 200 feet into the ceiling of the cave. "When that thing's finished, we'll be able to properly roll this thing into battle." Kyle gave her that 'are you serious?' look, and Wave corrected herself. "I mean, we'll be able to send supplies up."

John came running in with three workers and three carts of supplies. John was more of a grown man than a teenage boy, and had long brown hair and goggles resting atop his head. His coveralls were covered in ash and soot, and Kyle raised a questioning brow. "Oh, this is from that sword you asked us to make. Tattoo, was it?"

"Tatoari," he corrected him.

"Either way, I got it right here, exactly to specification." He pulled out the blade from a cloth bag. Kyle, taking the blade and strapping it onto his arm, swung it around a few times. "The fire shoots out when you press that trigger."

"Like this?"

"NO!" Kyle had already pulled the trigger however, sending flames sweeping across all three carts of supplies, igniting the gunpowder inside obliterating all of them in a fiery explosion.  


	5. Divine Intervention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guild thinks up a plan to find Blood; Meanwhile, Castiel retells a story from his past.

As Kyle awoke in the Guild infirmary, he noticed three others in hospital beds next to him, John being one of them. Examining the room around him- he hadn't actually been in the infirmary here before- he saw a variety of tools laid out on a table at the front of the room, what tools, he couldn't tell. Warily, he rose from the bed, aware of two devices stuck onto his arm. ' _What are these for...?'_

"Bonk!" A small book struck him on the back of the head. "You're awake!" It was Wave, dressed in a set of light purple plaid pajamas. They were cute on her, Kyle remarked, but they were covered in dirt and dust already, a result of Wave's poorly organized bedroom he guessed.

"Ow, why are you here Wave?" Kyle rubbed the spot he had been hit, stepping a few paces away from the crazy woman.

"What are you talking about? I was waiting for you to wake up so we could get to work. You caused a lot of damage you know."

"Yeah, I figured. Plus we'll have to replace all the destroyed supplies huh?"

Wave smiled. "Luckily for you, that's already taken care of. We're always working 24/7 to keep this Battlefront alive, so we always have extra. That said, he he, we're gonna take away your Tatoari privileges for now. We wouldn't want this happening again now would we?" Kyle grumbled at this new revelation, but proceeded to walk out into the Guild anyways. The large structure in the center of the cavern was no longer glowing with energy, but lay dormant as a crew of workers patched up the extensive damage. "As you can see, the central melting tower is heavily damaged from the explosion. We had to treat at least a dozen workers just from the molten steel that came pouring out of there."

"So when will everything be repaired?"

"A week I'd say."

"And until then?"

The Guildmaster' s face lit up suddenly. "Actually, we heard something interesting from the surface. Apparently, Saiyuri thinks she's found that kid's hideout. The one who destroyed the cafeteria remember?"

Kyle grimaced at the scene from earlier. "Oh yes, I remember."

"The trail she found led into the woods, and to a cave. She believes it may be an old entrance to Third Guild, so I figured it'd be worth a shot."

"If there was another cave system linking Third Guild to the surface, why haven't we been using that?"

"That's the thing, we never knew it was there. Here, let me show you!" She led the way across the Third Guild to the control station sitting atop the central melting tower. A guild surveillance was standing with a device which beeped constantly. "We heard the news and scanned the outside walls. As I turned out, it's right over there!" She pointed across to a group of workers and a tunnel boring machine. "There must have been some sort of collapse that sealed off the entrance, so we're digging it out."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"You and a team are going to go through this tunnel system and locate the base. A different team will approach from the surface and flush him out. I've already told Catherine we'll do it tomorrow at 5 in the morning." She glanced at Tatoari sitting on a desk, the flamethrower dismantled next to it. "Why do you want such a peculiar weapon in the first place?"

"I was given something similar when I was alive. I didn't get much of a chance to use it though."

"How did you die anyway?" Wave asked.

"I died fighting, trying to help a friend. In the end, all my work was destroyed. I failed..." Kyle dropped his head solemnly in shame. "Don't worry about me though, we have bigger things to deal with right now." He rose from his seat, telling her this conversation was done, as he always seemed to do.

 

Meanwhile, the student council president had been sulking in his office for the past few hours, his worried vice-president waiting for him outside. "Mr. President," she called, "Are you coming out of there for dinner?"

"No, leave me alone."

"Castiel, you have to eat something. As the vice-president, I have to make sure our leader is healthy and ready to lead!"

It was true though, his stomach growled restlessly as he sat leaned back in his chair. "Will the cafeteria be open?"

"It should be fixed by now. That student's ramen was pretty tasty though, I wonder if she'll be cooking again today?" she thought to herself. "What was her name again?"

"I belive that student's name was....." The council room fell silent for several seconds. "...I can't remember."

"Is something else on your mind? You are usually able to remember most every student in the school."

"The student Sam West attacked the Battlefront members in the cafeteria and killed several of them before I got there. It just bothers me how a student like him could turn so... violent so suddenly. I realize he hasn't been attending school as of late, but even so..." He suddenly got up and strode swiftly toward the door. "Mizuru, unlock the door."

"Wh-what? I thought it was locked from the inside!"

"When has the council room ever locked from the inside? You have the key, so open it."

Scrambling to find the key in her uniform, Mizuru eventually opened the door for him. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find some dinner, you're welcome to join me if you'd like."

"Y-yes, coming!" The two of them began making their way to the cafeteria, when abruptly, Castiel swerved and made straight for a water fountain nearby. As she waited for him to finish, Mizuru decided to ask a ramdom question. "Why is your name Castiel?"

"Hm? I was given that name. I wasn't trying to be cool or anything. Somehow though, it's fitting for the role I play here in death. All of those idiots in the Battlefront seem to think I'm actually an angel. Do you know anything about this?"

"N-no sir."

"There is an interesting story that goes along with my name though. Would you like to hear it?" She nodded her head silently as they continued toward the cafeteria. "My parents had close ties to the church, and my mother wanted me to become a priest. My father however, as I would learn much later in my life, would name me Castiel for a different reason. Contrary to popular belief, my father was a devout Satanist, and held a deep hatred towards the church. I will agree though, the church had done many things to us, and I never particularly liked the bunch." He paused as they entered the commons. "Looks like they're not serving after all. The ramen girl is here though."

Mizuru suddenly noticed another individual getting ramen. "Moharu!" She stalked over to the stand. "I'm sure you've met my delinquent brother Moharu several times."

"Oh, yes, I remember the last time, I caught him myself for stealing soda from a vending machine."

Moharu let out a nervous chuckle and attempted to escape, but his sister grabbed his collar. "Wait Moharu, Castiel was just telling a story!"

The president held up his hands in self defense, "Really, I'm not comfortable telling anyone else. I know he works for the paper, so I don't want it to end up in the school paper or something."

"But he has to hear it too," Mizuru protested. As she tried to yank Moharu back however, she realized he was no where to be seen.

"Now that he's gone, I suppose I'll continue. "Just before I was born, our house was taken. The harsh taxes we were subject to were crippling our family, and we could no longer afford it. My father saw this as an opportunity to get back at the church. When I was born, my father took me from the hospital and down into the basement underneath the old house, and planned to sacrifice me in the name of the devil. He almost succeeded, if not for a little boy who happened to wander into the basement that night. The police were called, and arrived just in time to stop the final step of the ritual. The papers called it 'divine intervention'."

"That's such a sad story! What happened to him?"

"Officially, he got life in prison, but I found out later he was executed and thrown into the river. Crucified no less. Part of me thinks he deserved it, and I spent much of my life hating him for it, but at the same time, I just feel sorry for him."

"That's horrible!" At the same time however, she was stuffing her face with ramen.

Later that day, they were walking back to the council room when Castiel noticed a piece of paper tacked to the wall. "What's this?"

Mizuru pulled the paper from the wall and examined it. "It's the school paper. And look, you're on the front page!"

The angel wrenched the paper away from her. "'Revealed: The Student Council President's Traumatizing Past'?! Moharu must have done this!" He slammed his fist into the wall where the paper once hung, easily tearing a clean hole with his superhuman strength. He breathed for a second. "....Damn... I'm going to have to fix that aren't I?"

"Yep."

"Grrr, MOOOOHAAARUUUUUUUU!"


End file.
